Currently Playing: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

 

My goal now in this wonderfully exciting new Nintendo Switch 2 era is to... 100% older games! Yes, that is part of the plan as I replay games from the Switch 1 era on the new console. 

 Okay so I doubt I'll be doing it for every game, but for these smaller platformers? Absolutely. And Mario Bros U. DX is a great place as any to start. It's as plain as Mario games come, fun, but nothing too terribly exciting or ( I think ) difficult.

 So my own criteria for completion in this game is all star coins in each world. I'm not including the non-main quest stuff like Luigi U or the challenges. 

I figure by the time this is done, I'll have my physical copy of 'The Thing' Remastered and be ready to move on. 

Currently Playing: Fire Emblem Engage

With Ori out of the way, the great Switch One first party backlog cull has begun! Beginning with one of the longest in the line-up: Fire Emblem Engage.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Three Houses and couldn't wait to jump into it's predecessor, even if it does lack a lot of the little life sim aspects. 

Still though, I am five hours in so far an enjoying it just fine. The characters are bright and colorful. Chole so far has been my favorite of the support units. 

 

Edit: I royally borked myself in the middle of a battle by saving when I had zero business doing so with no safety net in place. Time to restart... eventually. 

CURRENTLY PLAYING: Ori and the Blind Forest

Since Silksong didn't happen at Summer Game Fest, I needed to get my Metroidvania fix somehow. And since I had picked the Ori collection up at GameStop the night the Switch 2 launched, I figured now was the perfect time to dive in before I begin my great Switch backlog demolition. 

Adulting

So if you haven't noticed by all of the first posts on this blog, I am on a bit of a Sonic the Hedgehog kick. Dunno how it happened, but my love for things Sonic had been rekindled, where before I literally wanted nothing to do with anything but Classic era stuff.

Fast forward to today and I finally convinced myself to buy a new wallet after I accidentally washed and dried my old one that I had for nearly 20 years, destroying everything inside including my debit and credit card. Mercifully, my driver's license was spared.

So in Spencer's this morning, I made the sort of purchase any 37 year old in a management level position working at a multi million dollar company would make.

 

Nintendo Switch 2 is HERE

And it was absolutely worth the time and effort put into getting it. 

Stunning clouds over work today

We were under a tornado watch for much of the day today, and with that came some pretty gnarly clouds all throughout the day. 

The Nintendo Switch and the End of the Road

There comes a time in every console's life where the developer makes a decision: Will it continue to live on as via backwards compatibility, prompting the adopter(Me) to retire the unite and possibly sell it off (which I am!), or do simply box it up and stash it away for later access should I want to play older games.

Luckily for me, Nintendo has decided to make the Switch 2 backwards compatible with Switch 1, meaning my time with the Switch has officially hit the end the road. Since it is highly unlikely I am going to want to replay anything that isn't brand new or a remaster of some sort for the next several months, I have decided to dock the Switch for good and play some old stuff via Retroarch, or maybe even Sonic Adventure 1/2 on Steam Deck to help pass the time.

C'mon June 5th! 

Brood XIV

This year has seen the reemergence of the Brood XIV of Cicada, and for the last few weeks, these guys have been coming up from the ground in the thousands every night and shedding their shells and then flying off. 

The last time this particular brood emerged was in 2008, but as chaotic as that was, it wasn't anything like it was this year! Their song is much, much louder, and the swarms have actually made it to my house this time. 

Hail, storm!

Yeah, definitely was not expecting a hail storm like that. Never experienced one before, so that was wild. 

COMMISSIONED: 'Laik the Wolf 1-Up Icon' by Osmoru

 

osmoru.bsky.social

I absolutely adore this piece. My friend surprised me with it after I expressed interest in commissioning it and I am just using it wherever I can!